Page 55 of The Omega's Surprise Baby
“Don’t be.” He squeezed my hand and a feeling of warmth rushed through me. “I like it.”
“Good.” I relaxed. “And in case you were worrying, I didn’t see anything I didn’t like. I was only thinking that…” I trailed off, not quite sure how to put my feelings into words.
“What?” he asked.
I licked my lips. “I was only thinking that this feels very… couple-ish. Walking hand-in-hand through town.” At this point, we’d almost reached the park. I could see it up ahead.
“Do you mind?”
“No,” I said, tightening my grip on his hand. I didn’t want to let go for anything.
“Fine then.” Shane gave me a slight smile and with that, it seemed, the topic was closed. Still holding my hand, he led me into the park. “I'm hoping our walk will cheer Max up a bit,” he said, eyes on the dog. He didn't look allthatgloomy to me, wagging his tail as he sniffed some bushes.
“What's wrong with Max?”
“I swear he's been whining at me all day since Conner left. Then his whining annoyed Sauron and that got him a paw to the nose.”
“Aw, is he missing Conner?” That was sweet.
“Whenever the boy leaves for school or anything,” Shane confirmed. “But it's been especially bad this past week, since... I think Max can tell when his buddy isn't happy.”
“Is something going on with Conner?” I asked, leaning in a bit closer because I didn't want our conversation to be overheard by a couple passing us by from the other direction. They were already whispering among themselves. Not about us, I hoped.
Shane bit his lower lip. An uncharacteristic move for him. That’s how I knew that, whatever was going on, it was weighing heavily on his mind. After a moment, he turned to me. “Remember when I told you Conner didn't want to be omega?”
“Yeah. It's his tenth birthday at the end of the month, isn't it?” Was he dreading that? I remembered the date because I'd originally planned my flight so I'd arrive hereafterhis birthday, so he wouldn't feel like I was trying to steal attention from him.
“It is. But that's not the issue,” Shane said as Max pulled on the leash again and we walked on. “My sister had her babies recently and I think it's triggered something for him.”
“What do you mean?”
“When we came back from the hospital, his scent had changed.”
“Oh.” I was getting it now. “So is he...?”
“Yeah.” Shane sighed, but I knew it wasn't because he was dismayed with his son's omega status. It was Conner's reaction that troubled him. He only wanted his son to be happy.
“Maybe I can talk to him tomorrow,” I suggested. “Omega to omega.”
“I don't know. He's been... withdrawing. It's what he does. It's difficult to get through to him when he acts like this. I figured I'd give him some time.”
“I see. Was this a bad time for me to come?”
“No, it's actually a really good time.”
“Yeah?” I raised an eyebrow at him in question.
His eyes twinkled. “You see, now I have an excuse not to babysit for my sister for a little while. Honestly, babies are cute, but I'm so glad my kids are out of that stage.”
Ouch.I tried not to cringe. At least not visibly. My hand wanted to go to my stomach, but I stopped that movement too.
“Something wrong?” Shane asked.
So maybe I hadn't been successful in hiding my distress at that commentcompletely.“It's nothing,” I said. “I've been feeling queasy on and off for the past few days.” I could say that convincingly because it wasn't a lie.
“I'm sorry.” He shot me a concerned look. “Are you getting sick?”
“No, don't worry about it. Haven't been eating well, is all.” I was definitely not going to tell him about the baby now. At least not for a little bit. It stung a bit to know that he didn't want any more kids. It wasn't my fault, or my baby's fault, that he'd already gone through all that with another omega.
